4 month Cry It Out?

Question

Alright mamas,
This is my first time posting:

My 4 month old still wakes about every 2 hours at night. When she was 2 months , the pediatrician recommended that I let her cry for 20 minutes before going to her, at which point I nurse her, put her in her crib and she usually cries for a few more minutes before falling asleep.
At her 4 month check up the doctor stressed that she doesn't need night feeding she just cries for me to help put her back asleep. She said the window for sleep training is quickly closing and that for 3 nights in a row I need to let her cry and not go to her until morning.

That sounds absolutely heartbreaking !!!!

Has anyone done that and it actually worked after 3 nights? Letting your baby cry 3 three full nights taught them to sleep?
Does anyone have another strategy? ( we do all of the little things, white noise, calm atmosphere, night time routine and so on)

Thank you in advance for your positive and helpful responses!

Answer

I will never let my son cry it out. Ever.

Answer

Absolutely not they are still newborn they cry when they are hungry dirty diaper want cuddles and such its their way to communicate

They need to eat if they are still waking and wanting to eat then feed them

Cry it out is not suggested until after 6 months old but really closer to a year old or after

Answer

The way I did it was when she woke up, I'd give it 2 mins before going to her because fussiness is a part of their sleep cycle and you shouldn't go straight to them when they start fussing because you could actually be waking them up. If she was still crying after that I would try calm her down and/or give her a soother. If that didn't work then I would feed her. But your doctor is right, they should be going longer without feeding at this point. My daughter doesn't feed at all during the night anymore. She sleeps from between 7:30-8:30pm until about 6:30 am. Find what works for you. Crying it out doesn't always mean just leaving them to cry all night. Set a small time limit and then adjust it to your liking. Babies cry. You're not causing emotional damage. The fact you care so much to ask means that your baby is probably feeling all the love in the world right now. Trying to get you babe to sleep better is not only for your own good but for your child as well.

Answer

My daughter is soon to be 5months n I wouldn't dare to do crying it out. She still wakes up every 2-3hrs at night but only bc she is hungry n goes right back to bed after she eats. Her doc suggested it but she is still knew and doesn't know how to put her self back to sleep n still eats very often. I kno she will sleep thru the night one day but I won't be forcing her to cry her way thru it

Answer

Your baby absolutely needs to eat at night!! I can't believe a doctor would say that. Breast milk is metabolized quickly, so you're only supposed to go one stretch of 5 hours without feeding.

Have you tried various swaddles? I've heard good things about the zipadee-zip.  My baby has great neck control so I actually put him down on his tummy (not in a swaddle!) and he sleeps more soundly.  He's also in our room with us so I can feed him at the first signs of stirring so he doesn't wake up too much.

Good luck mama, I know sleep deprivation makes you feel crazy 😢

Answer

I let my son "fuss it out" for about 10 minutes before I go in to soothe him if he wakes up less than 3 hours after he last ate.  Maybe 3/4 of the time he ends up falling back to sleep on his own.  I will only let him actually cry for 3 minutes or so before I go in.  I don't know if my theory is true or not but I feel like this is helping him learn to self soothe without letting him cry himself to sleep just because he's so exhausted.  Seems to be working for us so far!  My pediatrician said that by four months most babies need one feeding overnight but some more, some less.

Answer

I think eating every 2-3 hours at night is a bit much for this age. My son has been sleeping 7-8 hours a night for the last few weeks but only if he is swaddled, we recently moved him up to the 50/50 transition swaddle and it took about a night or two for him to adjust to that. But i do agree that its too young for the cry it out, however, i dont pick up my son the moment he starts fussing. 
For us what has worked the best is swaddling (and transition swaddle suit) and laying him down once he is asleep.

Answer

My doctor said until 6 months they cannot self soothe so the CRI method is essentially ignoring your baby's needs. They only cry if they need something at this stage where at 6 months they start to learn self soothing methods and become less needy.

Answer

My daughter is 4 months and has also been waking every 2 to 3 hours since she was born. She peeps some, and if I don't get there quick enough she will cry. She nurses and then falls right back asleep so I don't think she is just doing it to be fussy or want/need attention, I think she is hungry. For me, I'll wake up as much as she needs to eat and won't ever do the cry it out method. I think some babies sleep through the night and some don't, unfortunately we are in the not sleep camp but it won't last forever either. For the mamas that it worked for, that is great for them but it's just not for me

Answer

You read my mind by posting this! Very interested to hear other's advice. I am in the exact same situation as you with my 16 week old waking every two hours or so. We always try and console him in the crib first. If this doesn't work then we take him out, but don't offer boob / bottle unless a last resort. I was going to ask our pediatrician at our next appointment re CIO method.

4 month Cry It Out?

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